Healthier General Tso’s Chicken

So this recipe isn’t totally 100% on plan for me, but it’s delicious and I figured the extra little bit of non-plan items I was getting wouldn’t hurt too bad. I really wanted some Chinese-ish for dinner (even though General Tso’s Chicken is totally an American thing… I think…), so I made a sauce that echoed that spicy sweet flavor and served it up with Cauliflower Rice and some steamed fresh green beans. By the way, Cauliflower Rice is my new favorite thing and if you’re as addicted to rice as I can be, you should check it out.

Get a wok or large cooking vessel over a hot flame. Add your cooking fat of choice (I use coconut oil) and once it’s warm, add your chicken pieces. Cook until the meat is fully cooked – I usually go until the juices have evaporated away and all the meat is cooked through.

While your chicken pieces are cooking, get out a medium size bowl or a large measuring cup. Add the ingredients for the sauce and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Once the chicken is cooked, add the ginger, onion and celery to the pan. Cook until the onion starts to go translucent. Add your red chili flakes. I usually just sprinkle some over the pan, like a couple really good pinches. The more you add, the hotter it will be. If you don’t have red chili flake, you could use ground or crushed red chili pepper or sriracha.

Pour your sauce ingredients into the pan and stir. Keep cooking until the sauce has thickened and everything is hot. Top with the scallions or reserve them for plating and garnish. Definitely serve with cauliflower rice (or regular rice if it’s in your diet). Throw some steamed green beans or broccoli in the mix if you need more vegetables.

This recipe should serve 5-6 people easily. It’s also pretty saucy so you can add some sauce over your sides if you like. If you don’t want it as saucy, try cutting the sauce ingredients in half at first and adding more if you need. If you accidentally make the chicken too spicy, add extra honey to mellow it out. It’ll still be spicy, but more manageable. If you don’t have raw honey, you can use regular sugar instead, but seriously go find yourself some good honey. It’s soooooooo good.